Planting Trees: A Green Community Project

Planting trees can be one of the best green things you can do in and for your community. When you consider what trees do for the environment, they’re pretty amazing. They provide food and homes for squirrels and birds, shade for the forest floor (and for people!), and oxygen for the atmosphere — not to mention the fact that trees get rid of carbon dioxide (a major greenhouse gas) in the process of releasing oxygen.

To get in on the tree-planting game, you can join a Trees Forever chapter in your community or start one if one doesn’t already exist. Local groups get involved with the nuts and bolts of planting trees, including digging holes, planting, watering, and mulching. But they also organize and need help with other projects, such as planning and managing events, designing planting plans, learning and educating others about proper pruning techniques, and counting trees to help with inventories.

Credit: PhotoDisc, Inc.

Planting trees gets you out in nature and doing something good for it as well.

If you’re launching your own tree-planting project, have an expert onboard who can recommend appropriate native tree species and ongoing care and maintenance needs for them.